As the Rangers begin their final push toward an Eastern Conference playoff berth, their problems only continue to grow.

After a 1-0 loss to the Devils Friday and a 4-2 loss to the Flyers Sunday — which dropped the Blueshirts to 2-7-1 in their past 10 games — the seventh-place Rangers will square off against the eighth-place Carolina Hurricanes tonight in Raleigh, N.C., without the services of Marian Gaborik.

After sitting out the final two periods of Sunday’s loss with a concussion, Gaborik remained in New York yesterday instead of flying with the team, ruling him out for tonight. There is no timetable for Gaborik’s return to the lineup, after Rangers coach John Tortorella said the winger had periodically been feeling under the weather “off the ice” for about a week.

It’s just the latest setback in what has been a disappointing season for Gaborik, who has 17 goals and 21 assists in 47 games, but has actually scored in only 10 games. Last season, in his first with the Blueshirts after signing as a free agent from Minnesota, Gaborik had 42 goals and 44 assists in 76 games.

Despite Gaborik’s struggles, his loss will do nothing to help the Rangers — who have scored two or fewer goals in six of their past eight games — to find their groove offensively.

There’s also the matter of the standings, which puts added importance on tonight’s game. The Rangers sit two points ahead of the Hurricanes, who have played one less game than the Blueshirts, and six points ahead of the Sabres and Thrashers, who are tied for ninth.

The Rangers also must have an eye on the streaking Devils, who have won seven in a row and have gone 15-1-2 in their past 18 games. The hot streak has allowed the Devils to gain 19 points on the Rangers during that span, and they now sit 12 points back with two games in hand.